J122

Screaming Eagle wins at Manhasset Bay

2008-11-14T08:51:00.002-05:00

John Chapman’s first event in his new J/122 happened to be the 630 mile rough, upwind Bermuda Race against four other sisterships. A few months and a few buoy races later, Chapman and his team aboard SCREAMING EAGLE (Peconic Bay, Long Island) savored victory of their own by winning IRC 3 Overall at the Manhasset Bay Fall Series. The regatta featured three days of big breezes followed by a day of sun and shifty northwesterlies. SCREAMING EAGLE won their competitive 10 boat class on the strength of 3 bullets in 6 races. Photo by Allen Clark of Photoboat.com

J/122 is RORC Yacht of the Year

2008-09-18T08:22:00.008-04:00

Philippe Delaporte’s PEN AZEN was recently named the 2008 Yacht of the Year by the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Delaporte was recognized for his ‘outstanding racing achievement… and in particular for his sportsmanlike approach, Corinthian spirit and the support he has shown his fellow competitors.’ What a great way to cap off a second straight winning season.Delaporte, a multiple J owner who helped launch the J/80 class in France, sent the following email report:

“This year was very good for us. We just finished the RORC season and we are more than happy with the results. We won the season’s overall, our class and a total of 6 annual RORC trophies: - Best Overall - Best IRC 1- Best Overseas Yacht- Best Series-produced Yacht- Special trophies for events 3 and 4.

We raced 9 regattas including 2 long distance races from Cowes to Madeira and back that are 1,480 miles each. Both of them with strong winds. On the way to Madeira we got 30 knots upwind with gusts up to 46 knots during 3 days. 5 boats only arrived and we win overall. We won our class 7 times and finished second the 2 others. In short a full success. Pen Azen has now sailed 11,000 miles and we are very happy with her.” RORC site

TKO Repeats at Rolex Big Boat Series

2008-09-18T08:22:00.004-04:00

Dave Kirby of Manhattan Beach, CA sailed his J/122 TKO to its second straight Rolex Big Boat Series win last weekend hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. Racing in IRC C division, TKO notched 5 bullets in 7 races, finishing 9 points clear of a custom Wylie 42, followed by a Sydney 38 and Tim Fuller’s J/122 RESOLUTE. The J/122 continues to demonstrate her racing versatility with impressive results in light air, heavy air, inshore and offshore venues. Of particular note is that most owners also daysail and cruise their J/122s, while many of their IRC competitors sit idle between races!

Christopher Dragon wins East Coasts

2008-08-01T09:59:00.000-04:00

It would be hard to find a tougher test of racing skill than at the 2008 New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. 120 boats competed across 6 classes in this four day event that featured the J/122 East Coast Championship. Thursday’s racing was wet and woolly with all fleets having to race inside the Bay due to the severe conditions. Friday and Saturday conditions eased enough to sail outside but with very lumpy seas. Then the T-Storms returned on Sunday with winds hitting 50 knots to shorten the day’s racing.

In J/122 action, Andrew Weiss (Rye, N.Y.) on CHRISTOPHER DRAGON opened the series with 6 straight bullets, before being really tested by both FLYING JENNY VI (David Askew, Annapolis, MD) and GAMBLER (Doug Shaffer, Houston, TX). The J/122s raced around the Island on Sunday, and with a 3rd place finish (behind FLYING JENNY and GAMBLER), Weiss locked up the J/122 East Coast Championship by two points over FLYING JENNY VI and 10 points over GAMBLER.

Onboard the J/122 in the Mac Race

2008-07-28T12:57:00.002-04:00

Kimball Livingston, west coast editor of Sail Magazine, joined Bill Zeiler's aboard his J/122 SKYE for the Chicago Yacht Club's 100th Race to Mackinac. Read here for Kimball's fun perspective on the race, which ended in victory for the team.

J/122 SKYE Wins in Mac Race Debut

2008-07-25T08:47:00.003-04:00

Some call the Chicago-Mackinac Race one of the most difficult distance races to win. It’s a 333 mile sprint from the southern end to northern end of Lake Michigan and the rule of thumb is that no lead is a safe lead. Many a boat has been winning the Mac, only to park in the final few miles and watch the rest of the fleet catch up. To win the event in your first try either means you are really good, or really lucky. Bill Zeiler, aboard his new J/122 SKYE was perhaps both. SKYE has been on a tear since arriving in Lake Michigan earlier this year with “preseason” wins notched at the Chicago-Waukegan Race and the Olympic Cup. Their Chicago-Mac race division, 22 boats strong, represented a wide mix of performance boats (1D35 Heartbreaker, CM1200s, Sydney 41, GS 44, etc) including the J/124 SUFFICIENT REASON and the J/130 EDGE. In the mostly reaching and running conditions of the race, both SKYE and SUFFICIENT REASON outpaced the fleet with SUFFICIENT REASON winning the elapsed time battle by 3 minutes and SKYE correcting out under ORR handicap to secure the class victory with the J/124 in 2nd and J/130 in 5th.

Next for SKYE and the Zeiler family is some cruising in northern Lake Michigan followed by the Harbor Springs Regatta, which will serve as the IRC-US Championship for 2008.

J/122s Excel in Bermuda Race

2008-07-25T08:21:00.003-04:00

Think of 3 to 4 days of sailing upwind in big chop, shifty winds, large current eddies, and with fans back home second-guessing your every move via satellite tracking on the web, and you’ll have an inkling of what racing was like in the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race. Many a nice meal was put on hold while crews acclimated to the bumpy conditions that greeted the 200+ fleet as they moved through the Gulf Stream along the 630 mile passage from Newport to Bermuda. J owners turned out in record numbers and represented 22% of the entire fleet - the first time J has surpassed Swan (14%) for most popular brand/design in a Bermuda Race. 2008 also marked the first appearance of the J/122 in the Bermuda Race, and five boats competed in the event, which was doubled scored under both IRC and ORR.

With several lead changes right down to the wire, David Askew and Ken Comerford on the J/122 FLYING JENNY VI were the first J/122 to finish by only 1 min 7 seconds over Marc Glimcher on CATAPULT and 35 minutes over Stephen Furnary on PATRIOT (pictured above), who had been the J/122 pace-setter for most of the race. After handicaps were applied, the top J122s in ORR (and finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th in class) were CATAPULT, PATRIOT & FLYING JENNY VI. Under IRC, it was FLYING JENNY VI, CATAPULT then PATRIOT.

Askew and Comerford aboard J122 FLYING GENNY VI were also part of the team that won the overall Onion Patch Series, an event that included the NYYC Annual Regatta, the Bermuda Race and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta, all sailed under IRC.

J/122 Class at Greenwich Cup

2008-05-19T13:42:00.002-04:00

The J/122 class sailed as Division 1 at the Greenwich Cup, a 4-race, two day series last weekend at Indian Harbor Yacht Club, in Greenwich, CT. Mike Bruno of WINGS emailed in the following report: “We had 3 races the first day in shifty northwest breezy conditions and Barry Gold on SUNDARI sailed superbly to two firsts and a second. WINGS was next with two seconds and a first and Andrew Weiss’ CHRISTOPHER DRAGON was third. DRAGON managed to get a large stick fouled between her rudder and keel and would likely have won the race she got a 4th in. WINGS managed to pull it out on day two (light dying conditions) getting the gun on the only race of the day and winning first overall in the regatta by 2 points over SUNDARI followed by CHRISTOPHER DRAGON and CATAPULT.”

The Long Island Sound fleet will be split up sailing in several events including Newport-Bermuda and Block Island, before regrouping as a class in July for the East Coast Championships in Newport, RI.

J122 wins Antigua Sailing Week

2008-05-14T10:25:00.003-04:00

Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua– It was a week of great competition on the water and lively parties ashore - another fine edition of Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, the 41st annual. 17 classes competed for several prestigious trophies with J owners coming away with much of the silver.
In the Racing IV, V and VI fleets, the overall winner in the combined rankings, for which they received the Global Bank of Commerce Cup, was James Dobbs' new J/122, LOST HORIZON. Dobbs was also presented with the Air Canada Cup for winning Racing V; the Beefeater Trophy as Best Caribbean Yacht in Division A; and the Hightide Trophy as the Best Antigua Yacht in Division A.

David Cullen’s J/109 POCKET ROCKET won the Chippy Fine Yacht Woodwork Cup for the top overall boat in the Performance Cruiser III and IV ranks, plus the British Airways Trophy for supremacy in the Performance Cruiser III division over the J/133 SOLNES III owned and raced by Herman Bergshaven.

And not to be outdone by the newer J models, Philippe Champion steering his J/120, PAULISTA, won the Antigua & Barbuda Investment Bank Trophy, for besting the Racing VI fleet. News & Results

J/122 wins RORC Cervantes Trophy….Again

2008-05-13T14:56:00.002-04:00

The class and overall prize for the 2008 RORC Cervantes Trophy Race to Le Havre, France was won by Phillipe Delaporte’s J/122 PEN AZEN by four seconds over John Shepherd’s Ker 46 Fair Do’s VII. What a fantastic start to the 2008 season for this formidable French racer who won his class in the 2007 event and was second only to Chaz Ivill’s J/133 in the series overall.

J/122 Class debuts at AYC Spring Regatta

2008-05-05T16:13:00.003-04:00

It was “spring” in name only at the American Yacht Club Spring Regatta as blustery, wet conditions forced sailors to keep out the winter frostbite gear for at least two more weekends. 100 boats in 12 one-design, IRC and PHRF classes did battle in the annual event that kicks off the big boat racing season in the Northeast. 51% of the entries were J’s, including one-design starts for the J/105, J/109, J/120, J/122 and J/44 classes.

In what was the first J/122 one-design event held in North America, American Yacht Club Commodore Michael Bruno and co-owner Tom Boyle skippered their new J/122 WINGS (pictured above doing 14.5 knots) to an impressive victory. Action was tight in the 7 boat class and is expected to ratchet up even further as more boats are slated to attend upcoming New England events including the East Coast Championship at NYYC Race Week in Newport in mid July.

“Having never sailed a sprit boat in the past, or competed in one design racing, it was particularly rewarding to do well in our Spring Series,” said Commodore Bruno. “The 122 is a superb boat with excellent build quality, awesome performance in all the conditions we have experienced to date, and great looks. The boat was totally in control on the days we saw 30kt gusts with steep seas, and was also very fast on the two light days. We already have three 122s at American and I suspect our fleet will grow quickly.”

Results

J80 & J122 Video Action 2008

2008-04-10T14:38:00.002-04:00

J/122 Wins Culebra Regatta

2008-03-28T13:30:00.002-04:00

Jamie Dobbs and his new J/122 Lost Horizon II followed up their recent win at the St. Maarten Heineken regatta with another convincing win in the Racer-Cruiser class of the Culebra Heineken International Regatta in Culebra, PR. This is the second leg of the 2008 Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (C.O.R.T.) and this year featured both round-the-buoy and round-the-island racing in a variety of conditions. J/100 Bad Girl, the Key West & US PHRF National Champion, also enjoyed a return to the award podium by placing third in class 1. results here (photo by Bob Grieser).

J/122 Video Reviews

2008-03-03T13:48:00.002-05:00

As posted on the J-UK web site and on an earlier news item here on the J/122 site, below are fresh links to two online J/122 videos.

Sail.TV Video Review

Demo Sail the J/122

'Panacea' Wins Her First Two Races

2008-03-03T13:45:00.001-05:00

The brand new J/122 Panacea, owned by John and Jill Patterson, turned heads and wowed the opposition on Sunday winning her first ever race, and her second race too. John Patterson, an experienced racing sailor helming his new boat, with an all new crew in her debut race, steered the J/122 to victory winning both races on the water and on corrected time.

Racing in the Royal Southampton Yacht Club’s Frostbite Series, in the first race of the day Panacea beat the Corby 35 Njos into second place by 1 minute 20 seconds on corrected time and the Mills 36 Prime Suspect into third place, by over 4 minutes. Elsewhere in the eighteen boat class were, amongst others, two X-332s, a First 44.7, a HOD 35 and an Elan 34.

In the second race of the day Panacea (now really finding her stride) took the race from the Beneteau 44.7 Koko Kai beating her on corrected time by one minute 23 seconds. Kirsty & David Apthorp’s J/109 J-Dream (also new this season) finished in third place.

Conditions were relatively benign, with a south-westerly breeze of between ten and twelve knots, but Panacea’s first outing is none the less impressive!

J/122 Makes Debut at Key West

2008-02-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

Two J/122s made a successful debut at the 2008 Acura Key West Race Week. After 8 races over an abbreviated 2 1/2 day schedule (2 days cancelled to bad weather), Andrew Weiss’ CHRISTOPHER DRAGON (Long Island Sound) and Robin Team’s TEAMWORK (Beaufort, SC) led the rest of the 37-40' IRC racers to finish 3rd and 4th overall in the closely contested IRC-2 class. The top two boats (Swan 45 MURKA-2 and J/44 GOLDDIGGER) sailed well and thrived in the moderate to windy conditions seen for most of the racing. The highlight for the J/122s was on Thursday when CHRISTOPHER DRAGON took two 2nds to TEAMWORK’S 1st and 3rd, with TEAMWORK later awarded the Premiere Racing BOAT-OF-THE DAY for winning the most competitive handicap class.

J/122 Wins Manhasset Fall Series 2007

2007-10-30T10:25:00.000-04:00

Andrew Weiss and crew aboard J/122 Christopher Dragon recently capped off a great season on their new boat with another IRC win, this time at the Manhasset Bay YC Fall Series on Long Island Sound. Andrew reports:

“The Fall Series this year had conditions ranging from 5 to 23 Knots. Competition in the class included Tom Carroll’s J/133, an IMX45, two Farr 395s, a Ker 11.3 and a modified Beneteau 40.7. The first race was in very shifty westerly winds where we missed a shift and ended up in 6th place. Ultimately this would be our throw out race for the series. As the wind increased over the first weekend we were very fast upwind passing larger boats on the beats. Downwind we had little to no trouble with boat handling as many of the boats were wiping out.

The second Saturday we sailed three races in 17-23 knots placing 1,3,1. In the last race we were first to finish beating all the big boats on elapsed time. As the year has gone on we have been amazed how fast this boat goes upwind in big breeze. The last race on Sunday was a long seven leg race in shifty conditions. With the boat’s ability to tack faster and sail deeper angle's downwind we won both the race and series with finishes of 6,3,1,3,1,1. This regatta topped a year with Christopher Dragon where we finished first in every series entered except one where we finished second to another J/122. We couldn't be happier with the boat.”

complete results.

J-122 ‘J-DAY’ Wins Antwerp Race

2007-10-22T13:42:00.000-04:00

J-122 'J-DAY', skippered by Robin Verhoef of J/Benelux, showed excellent performance at the recently concluded Antwerp Race in Belgium winning the 52 boat IRC class 1/2. This annual event is one of the largest of the year sailed from Breskens to Antwerp on the tidal ‘Westerschelde’. This year the entire 46 nm course was an upwind stretch with winds varying between 6 – 12 knots. The competition was fierce in the IRC 1/2 class including two Swan 45’s, two Club Swan 42s, an X 41, X 46, X 35, Grand Soleil 40 and 43 and a Bashford 36. By the end of the race J-Day corrected to a 6 minute lead over the second place boat. The light winds made it a long and exciting race which was only decided when the harbor of Antwerp was in sight. Once more – and again the J/122 proves to have great upwind speed. Congratulations to Robin and his all amateur crew! event website.

Black Rock YC Juniors Thrive on J/122

2007-10-18T15:27:00.000-04:00

More junior sailors are discovering the thrill of sailing larger keelboats, thanks to a slew of JBBS (Junior Big Boat Sailing) initiatives cropping up around the country. This is no more evident than on Long Island Sound, where young sailors have been competing in the Beach Point Overnight Regatta now for 50 years. For 2007, the event (also known as the Junior Distance Sailing Championship of Long Island Sound) drew 17 boats, ranging from 30 to 45 footers, all sailing the 60 mile course from Mamaroneck, NY to Stratford Shoals and back. Winning the top prize was the junior team from Black Rock Yacht Club (pictured at left), sailing Dave and Mary Ellen Tortorello’s new J/122 Partnership. Black Rock Yacht Club started an innovative JBBS program 7 years ago that now is being modeled elsewhere. US Sailing is also developing curriculum for JBBS, and will soon be providing sailing program directors with the tools needed to start JBBS programs in their communities. Check out some of these other junior keelboat initiatives that are making a difference in the sport - Team Tsunami . . . . . . Storm Trysail Club

J/122 ‘Best Overseas Yacht’

2007-09-27T14:48:00.000-04:00

The RORC recently announced the Annual Challenge Trophies & Special Awards for the 2007 Offshore Series and what a year it was for J/Owners. Philippe Delaport’s new J/122 Pen Azen has been named the IRC 1 champion and Best Overseas Yacht in IRC with an impressive racing record, J/133 won the ‘Best Series Produced Yacht’ and J/105s topped the 2 Handed IRC Division for the second season with Mike West’s J/105 Juneau in first and Nick Martin’s J/105 Diablo J placing second. The J/109 RORC trophy will be awarded to Jean-Eudes Renier/Patrick Baune aboard Jee-Raft. All trophies and medallions are to be awarded at the upcoming RORC Annual Dinner on Friday 2nd November 2007. Congratulations to these and all participating J/Owners for a great season! Press Release

J/122 & J/105 win at Big Boat Series

2007-09-21T14:27:00.000-04:00

Dave Kirby of Manhattan Beach, CA, skippered his brand new J/122 “TKO” to victory in the IRC C class at the Rolex Big Boat Series last weekend to capture both the Keefe-Kilborn Memorial Trophy as well as a Rolex submariner watch. TKO excelled in the windy San Francisco Bay conditions that saw 112 boats competing in 10 IRC and One-design divisions. In the 34 boat J/105 fleet, Chris Perkins and his crew from San Francisco were awarded the Commodore’s Cup for winning the largest one-design division. This was the fifth time in seven years that Perkins and GOOD TIMIN have won. The J/120 fleet also saw tight action with Steve Madeira on MR. MAGOO edging out Barry Lewis on CHANCE in the final race. The 2008 Rolex Big Boat Series will be held September 11-14 at the St. Francis Yacht Club. Results

J/122 Dominates 2007 RORC IRC Class 1

2007-08-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

Philippe DELAPORTE and his new J/122 Pen Azen have been quietly dominating the 2007 RORC Offshore Series in IRC 1 with a record of 6 firsts and 1 second. The Pen Azen crew have nearly wrapped up the season win in class and are close behind J/133 JB3 for one of the top three overall IRC fleet trophies with only one race remaining. The race record to date:

1st in Class 1st Overall Rorc Cowes – Ouistreham (16 boats)
1st in Class 2nd Overall Rorc Channel Race (91 boats)
2nd in Class 5th Overall Rorc Cowes - Dinard St Malo (197 boats)
1st in Class 8th Overall Rorc Cowes – Jersey (104 boats)
1st in Class 2nd Overall Rorc Cowes - North Head (88 boats)
1st in Class 2nd Overall Rorc Cowes - St Quay (51 boats)
1st in Class 27th Overall Rorc Cowes - Le Havre (122 boats)

rorc.org

J/122 Video Available Online

2007-07-27T14:25:00.000-04:00

The J/122 has been turning heads all year in Europe and North America. Now you can hop aboard for a quick demo sail from the comfort of your living room or office. Join the J staff and friends for a nine minute sailing tour of the J/122 off of Newport, RI and see how easy this boat is to sail and get up to speed. Please click here to view online. Enjoy!

J133, J122, J105 Lead RORC Series

2007-07-23T16:00:00.000-04:00

With several 2007 RORC offshore races now complete, Charles Ivill’s J /133 JB3 and Philippe Delaporte’s J/122 Pen Azen have each compiled an impressive victory list and are currently in first place in their respective IRC classes and hold 1st and 2nd positions in the running for the 2007 RORC IRC Overall fleet points scoring. In the double-handed IRC Class, four of the top five boats are J/105s with Nick Martin’s Diablo-J currently in the lead. There remain four events in 2007 including the world famous Fastnet Race. It is clear that the crews on all of these J’s will be working hard to stay at the top of their game for the remainder of the season. Results & RORC news here.

J/122 2nd in Marblehead-Halifax Race

2007-07-23T14:24:00.000-04:00

Fresh from a convincing class win at the US IRC National Championships at Block Island Race Week, George Shaw and his crew aboard J/122 ‘Tumbleweed’ finished their first offshore distance race with a second place in IRC 2 (the largest class of the event) finishing behind only the larger Swan 56 on corrected time. Third in class was Lawrence Glenn’s J/44 Runaway. The biennial Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race is one of the pre-eminent ocean races of the North Atlantic and has a long and prestigious history. Congratulations to the Tumbleweed crew! more details…